7 Addictive Phone Games To Challenge Your Mind
Monument Valley 2
Possibly the most well-known brainteaser thanks to its gorgeous, dream-like landscapes, Monument Valley is a must-have for anyone who loves a good challenge. The original mobile puzzle game came out in 2014 and was a huge success – it was downloaded more than 30 million times and was even featured on an episode of House of Cards. Monument Valley 2 was brought out in 2017 and sticks closely to the original formula: in the first version, you must guide the tiny, adorable Ida from one intricate path to the next. In the second, you help a mother named Ro through a bunch of architecturally impossible buildings and pathways. Passing the level involved manipulating the landscape to make paths and bridges connect. The game is gorgeously designed, very satisfying to play and, despite the intricate design, really soothing to look at.
Get Monument Valley 2 here.
Euclidean Lands
Euclidean Lands is a clever strategy game crossed with a Rubik’s cube. Imagine all the beautiful structure of Monument Valley, but set on a Rubik’s cube, and with a tiny warrior, spear in hand, running around across the moving surfaces. This warrior can only move one space at a time, but it’s you that controls the world around him. Just like a Rubik’s cube, you twist and turn the blocks to reach an exit point, and each level sees that exit get harder and more complex – especially with the introduction of enemies. It’s a game that forces you to think in different ways – just finding the exit point is hard enough, but you have to multitask getting rid of the bad guys too. The complexity of the turning pieces means it requires a lot of concentration and keen observation skills to move up levels. But don’t worry – it sounds tricky, and it is, but the game will ease you into each level, so you won’t be overwhelmed.
Get Euclidean Lands here.
Framed
Mobile puzzles don’t just have to be about moving numbers, colours and grids – Framed is like stepping into a 1920s crime noir. Here, in order to escape capture the block you need to move around are comic book strips. By swapping certain parts of the comic strips around, your character will escape capture and, most importantly, progress through the game. Plus, this gives you the ability to write your own happy ending to the story. And it’s got a really jazzy theme tune – always a welcome bonus.
Get Framed here.
Rolly Vortex
This super simple game is ridiculously addictive – the gist is to use your finger to angle a ball through a series of rotating hoops. Easy enough, right? But as the pace quickens and the shapes become ever more obscure, you’re guaranteed to get tripped up along the way. This game requires you to be – dare we say it – on the ball, but the payoff is oh-so satisfying.
Get Rolly Vortex here.
Snake Vs Block
Get ready for a hit of nostalgia: the snake game from your old Nokia 3310 has had a makeover. In this version of our favourite addictive mobile game, you’ll need your snake to pass through numbered blocks in order to keep is moving. If your snake doesn’t have as many parts as the number on the block you’re trying to move through, then it’s game over, so you need to think quickly on your feet.
Get Snake Vs Block here.
I Love Hue
If you want to feel both challenged and insanely relaxed, you need I Love Hue in your life. There’s nothing more soothing than putting things in colour order, and that’s the whole premise of this game: choose a puzzle and then arrange the blocks by colour and shade. The blocks start as a scrambled mess of shades, and it’s your job to put everything back in order. In the beginner stage, there’s ten puzzles to solve before you can move on to the next level. As you go along, the game will send you positive affirmations and once you’ve completed the puzzle you’ll be presented with a big glowing heart. There’s no game that’s cuter.
Get I Love Hue here.
1010!
If you like a more traditional kind of game to challenge your mind, download 1010! It’s kind of like Tetris in reverse – whereas Tetris is about forcing falling shapes to fit into complete lines before they disappear, in 1010! you’re shown three pieces at a time, and you fit them onto a grid yourself, with a goal to create complete columns or rows before it disappears.
Get 1010! here.
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